PwC invests £30m in audit quality but stops short of CMA report recommendations June 5, 2019 Big Four firm PwC said today it plans to invest an extra £30m in its audit practice as part of a package of measures intended to boost quality. PwC’s move comes amid intense scrutiny on the sector which has been rocked by scandals such as the collapse of outsourcer Carillion and the accounting scandal at [...]
Non-Standard Finance abandons offer for Provident Financial June 4, 2019 Non-Standard Finance (NSF) will abandon its offer for Provident Financial, it said today, after regulators stamped out any hope of the deal going through. The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) told the company the enlarged group would not have enough capitalisation at current levels of shareholder acceptance. “Accordingly, NSF has decided, with the consent of the [...]
Uber under investigation by US and foreign tax authorities June 4, 2019 Uber has revealed it is under investigation by a string of tax authorities in the US and abroad. The ride-hailing firm said in a filing today that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has launched a probe into its taxes for 2013 and 2014. Read more: Uber loses $1bn in first quarterly results since stock market [...]
Shares fall in Google parent Alphabet as Justice Department probe looms June 3, 2019 Shares in Google parent Alphabet took a beating this afternoon after reports that the company is about to be hit with a competition investigation. The company tumbled more than six per cent as markets opened in New York, its biggest drop since 30 April when it showed low revenues in its financial results. Read more: [...]
Aberdeen Standard opposes Non-Standard Finance’s hostile Provident Financial takeover June 2, 2019 A major shareholder in Provident Financial has come out to publicly oppose rival doorstep lender Non-Standard Finance’s (NSF) hostile takeover bid. Aberdeen Standard Investments, which owns 3.1 per cent of the sub-prime lender, said it would not accept NSF’s offer. Read more: Watchdog probes Non-Standard Finance's hostile takeover of Provident Head of UK equities Andrew [...]
CMA launches investigation into Non-Standard Finance’s hostile takeover of Provident May 29, 2019 The competition watchdog has launched a merger inquiry into Non-Standard Finance’s (NSF) hostile takeover of rival sub-prime lender Provident. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) called in the offer this morning to investigate whether the merger would create a “substantial lessening of competition” in the market, a week before the takeover bid could be declared [...]
Taking the higher ground rent: How homeowners can stop themselves falling victim to dubious leasehold contracts May 28, 2019 Finally able to buy your first home, you skip away from the rat race that is the rental system, proudly boasting the much-revered title of “homeowner”. And yet, if you’ve bought a leasehold property, it might not be the picket-fenced dream that you’d bargained for. Millions of UK properties, typically flats, are sold as leasehold. This [...]
Competition watchdog accuses drugs companies of illegal market sharing May 23, 2019 The competition watchdog today said it was launching a probe into four pharmaceutical companies which it said colluded to raise the price the NHS paid for a nausea treatment medicine. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had provisionally found that Alliance, Focus, Lexon and Medreich had agreed not to compete for the supply [...]
Health groups urge social media firms to end tobacco influencer marketing May 22, 2019 More than 125 public health groups have called on social media giants to end the promotion of tobacco products on their platforms, including through the use of influencers. In an open letter to the bosses of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat, the organisations called for an end to the “aggressive” advertising of all tobacco products [...]
Apple vows to be more open about iPhone performance after consumer law concerns May 22, 2019 Apple has pledged to be more transparent about the battery health and performance of its iPhones, the competition watchdog said today. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the US tech firm has vowed to be “clearer and more upfront” with iPhone users following concerns it might be breaching consumer law. Read more: Former Apple [...]